memory_alphafandomcom-20200223-history
Memory Alpha:AOL chats/Ronald D. Moore/ron057.txt
Subj: Answers Date: 9/23/97 6:57:33 PM From: RonDMoore Folder 29?? What the hell? Didn't we just open 28??? In any case.... <> We haven't focused on the second half yet, we're just bringing episodes 11-13 into view. There's been no official word from the studio about a seventh season, so for the moment we aren't making any firm plans one way or the other. This will be a long, maddening wait, so get comfortable. <> The war against the Dominion will continue beyond the opening arc, but will recede into the background for a time before moving into the forefront again. <> We're working on it this afternoon. <> No. Not true. No. <> We've talked about it, but we probably won't be able to do it until the second half of the season. <> Not true. <> Hard to say. I've thought about taking a crack at a novel someday, but I don't know if it would be this idea even if I did one. <> Again, it's hard to say, but I have no plans to continue with Trek beyond DS9 right now. <> They've been cut down as we've kinda tired of this particular inside joke. <> I am grateful that my browser does not allow me to hear these messages aurally. <> Could you possibly come up with a more loaded question? How about, "If you could make a really public faux pas, what would it be?" <> I'll suggest it to him. << What happened to this ability, and are you planning to show it again in the future?>> We have no plans to use this ability again, and our internal logic is that it was not an ability shared by the entire Vorta race, but something that was specifically engineered by the Founders for that particular Vorta (or possibly a whole subset of the Vorta). <> I only submitted one spec script and that was "The Bonding." <> LeVar, Avery, and Rene will all be directing this season. -------- Subj: Answers Date: 9/24/97 6:34:40 PM From: RonDMoore <> "Distant Voices" was written well before we came up with the genetically-enhanced backstory for Julian in "Dr. Bashir, I Presume." We felt that this was a relatively minor kink in the established continuity caused by the new backstory, and so we decided not to worry about it. Most of Bashir's established backstory not only works nicely with the events in DBIP, but is actually fleshed out and makes more sense in light of DBIP. So on balance, a slight disconnect with "Distant Voices" is acceptable. I know there are those who will (vehemently) disagree with this premise, who will say that continuity is *the* most important aspect of the series. I've never seen it that way. I think that while continuity is important, I don't feel that it should be such an overriding concern that it becomes a detriment to good story telling. This is fiction. We should be allowed to make changes and adjustments from time to time even if it means contradicting some small part of the established backstory. MASH had the Chinese invading Korea at least twice over the course of the series (and possibly thrice) and I never felt that it had destroyed my enjoyment of the show. There are three different versions of how the Odd Couple actually met and I remember thinking they were all equally funny. Richie's older brother Chuck vanished from the entire lexicon of Happy Days after the first season and I never missed him. Yes, yes, I know we're talking about Trek here, not some sitcom, but even so, some elements of the Trek backstory are simply more important than others: Scotty comes out of the transporter and expects to see Kirk, and this is later undercut by the events in Generations. So what? Does that one line have to be written in stone for all time? Was it even that important in the episode itself? Does a reference to Picard commanding the Stargazer for 20 YEARS really have to guide and inform his character throughout the series? Does Kirk's reference to the United Earth Space Probe Agency mean there can never be a UFP? If Sisko implies that his father is dead in one episode, does that mean we can't see Grandpa Sisko in a later show? In my opinion, those are judgement calls on the part of the writers and producers. It's our job to decide whether some established bit of backstory is important or not and sometimes we just have to make a change and move on. <> Bashir makes the statement that the genetic enhancement of human beings is illegal in the Federation for any reason other than the correction of serious birth defects. We must therefore assume that whatever Bashir's problem, it was not considered to be a genetic birth defect. His actual condition is kept purposely vague in the episode, and we don't know whether this learning disability was something that might've been treatable with conventional educational and/or medical treatments in the 24th century. In fact, Bashir himself makes the point that his parents jumped too quickly to genetic engineering, and that he may have turned out okay without the tinkering. We'll never know. The Federation certainly has a hardline attitude on this issue -- in fact, you could call it harsh -- but the prohibition on human engineering has its roots in the cataclysm of the Eugenics Wars, and viewed in that context, I think it's reasonable to see why they would put such strictures in place. -------- Subj: Answers Date: 9/24/97 6:59:33 PM From: RonDMoore <> I don't think the Bashir-changeling missed the damage to the baby, and I don't think he intentionally harmed it. More likely is that the damage could not be repaired and he simply let events play themselves out. <> I've always thought of the Klingons as having something like Bushido, but I would hasten to add that my knowledge of Bushido is a fairly superficial one, so the Klingons may not be the perfect metaphor. <> No particular reason. We just haven't worked that wrinkle into the mix yet. <> I find the discussions here to sometimes be an interesting diversion. Not everything engages me, so there are some arguments/bickering sessions that I pay attention to and some that I don't. I think it's fair to say that the messages posted here have as much influence in my thinking as anything else. It all goes into the mushy recesses of my brain and churns around with the rest of my life experiences which then end up on the written page. <> It's hard to say at this point, since more than half the season has not been planned out. I think we'd like about the same mix of comedy this year as last year. <> The Great Link rules the Dominion and I think the Female Shapeshifter has said that there is very seldom any dissension in the Link. She is not the leader and presumably they all share power jointly. <> We were shut out at the Technical Emmys and I think we were robbed. The Academy in its infinite wisdom decided to award the visual effects award to "The Odyssey" over DS9. Setting aside the fact that putting a multi-million dollar MINISERIES up against a single one hour episode is preposterous, I should also point out that according to the rules, there could have been more than one award given in this particular category. In other words, there was no reason why they had to choose one over the other. The VFX team did extraordinary and groundbreaking work in that episode and they should've been recognized for it. The same goes for the Art Department, which had to literally recreate the look and feel of a series that's been gone for thirty years without the benefit of ANY blueprints or guidelines, and then seamless blend it into actual footage from the original episode. The artisans and craftsmen on our show deserved those awards and the entire producing staff felt that our "team" had been slighted. <> I kinda liked it. I thought it was good to try a different genre on TNG and mix things up a little. It's not a perfect show by any means, but I'm glad we did it. -------- Subj: Answers Date: 9/24/97 7:26:10 PM From: RonDMoore <> I've read this thing about the TOS command uniforms actually being green before, but I'm not sure that it's true. I know for a fact that the command uniforms we used in T&T were actually yellow and that they were supposed to be exact matches to the old uniforms. Also the various Kirk tunics that have surfaced over the years in auctions always seem to be yellow. Maybe it's just a subjective matter of what you or I may see as yellow or green. <> I've had good experiences both ways. Sometimes starting from someone else's story gives you a new approach to material that you may not have thought of on your own, and yet there's still something deeply satisfying about that sole "Written by" credit. The time it takes to develop a script from an initial premise varies widely, depending on our time constraints and how problematic the material is. Ideally, you want 5-7 days to write the initial story, 3-4 days to break the show with the staff, and then 2 weeks to write the first draft. <> Yes. I think we all are. It's one of those cases where the actor and the role are perfectly matched and the audience just responds to the fusion of actor and material in ways that no one anticipated. <> This is an error that no one caught until the episode was on the air. And who caught it first? Rick Berman's ten year old son. Kind of humbling. <> This sounds like a good question, but to be honest I don't remember the details of this piece of tech and I can't bring myself to trudge through the script trying to recreate our thinking at the time. How about just, "I hate temporal mechanics," as an answer? <> Let's just say he's not alone. <> I think this was a choice made by Brent. << if Paramount does not DS9 a seventh year, will you have enough time to give the show a smashing finale a la "All Good Things..."?>> I certainly hope so, and we have made it very clear to the studio that we need ample warning before wrapping up the series. -------- Subj: Answers Date: 9/24/97 7:37:43 PM From: RonDMoore <> We try to give people the assignments that they want if at all possible and keep them away from the shows they're not interested in. Sometimes it's not possible due to time constraints or the unexpected shifting of episodes due to actor availability, budget, or directing considerations (all of which frequently happen). I have a bit of pull regarding my own writing, but I'm certainly not above rewriting some else's work or taking on an episode that I may not have volunteered to do given a choice. When that happens, I try to invest myself in the story and just make it the best possible script that I can. <> This is not what I would recommend to the studio. I'd let the TNG movies continue (although I would space them a little further apart), let DS9 and Voyager run their courses, and then wait a couple of years before starting any new Trek series. <> We're not interested in revisiting this storyline. <> I think it's a viable concept. I think you could off-set make-up costs by decreasing opticals and staying mostly on the planet. It's just a notion. <> There is no such episode with that title. <> It came up a long time ago, but we never pursued the idea and I don't think we will. <> It was very much a show about religion and faith. The political machinations were just plot to justify doing the episode. << I just read a rumor that DS9 will be adding a new recurring character to the show: Can you confirm or deny?>> There is no such character and no such episode. -------- Subj: Answers Date: 9/24/97 7:39:13 PM From: RonDMoore <> Before everyone jumps in here, I'll say it again: I DON'T WORK ON VOYAGER, and I won't get involved in an argument about what they did or why. Find a DS9 or a TNG example to make your point if you want my response. -------- That was our internal thinking, but we didn't want to come right out and say it in the episode. <> Oh, come on. Don't pout. What was the question again? <> He'll definitely be involved in the machinations leading up to the retaking of the station and we have some other plans for Quark and the Dominion for later in the season. <> We read the Prime Directive as prohibiting interferring in "primitive" societies that have not yet developed warp drive, which is what I believe the intent of the PD was orginally. << there are a lot of similarities between the Borg and the Founders. Aren't you guys a little concerned when the two greatest Star Trek villians are so much alike? Are we going to learn enough about the Great Link to see the differences between this and the Borg link (i.e. collective)? >> We see them as very different, and yes, we hope to be showing you more about the Dominion this year and how it differs from the Borg in many important respects. <> Well, that's quite a twisting of what I said. I went out of my way to say that I felt continuity *is* important, never said it was the "enemy of the writer" and never implied that we "dismissed" anything out of hand because it was "inconvenient." Go back and read it again. <> Nothing at the moment. T&T was a VERY expensive episode and it would have to be an extraordinary show for us to consider that kind of effort again. -------- Subj: Answers Date: 9/24/97 10:03:35 PM From: RonDMoore <> Oh, give me a break. If all you can glean from my posting is that I have a cavalier attitude, then you're just not paying attention. Of course we care about the continuity of the show! How else do you think that a franchise spanning three decades hangs together so well that entire books can be written about "The History of the Future"? If you stop and think about it for a moment, you'll see that it's nothing short of amazing that Trek's continuity is so tight after so many years and so many different people involved in bringing it to life. But not everything said or mentioned on screen is of equal weight and importance, anymore than every single utterance in your daily life is of equal importance. You even admit that that Scotty/Kirk thing in "Relics" is a small thing, but want it treated as if it were a big thing. It's not. It's one line in one show that provided a cute moment, but had no impact on anything else. And finally, it is absurd to suggest that we don't care about the show because we didn't create it. Just because we don't worship at the altar of Established Continuity the way you want us to is no reason to accuse us of bad faith, which is basically what you're saying. I try not to take criticism on this board too personally, but I won't stand for that. A lot of people put their entire creative energies into this series week after week, and for you to suggest we do otherwise because it's someone else's creation is a cheap shot. -------- Moore, Ronald D.